It is after a decade that a woman lawyer has been appointed as a judge of the Kerala High Court from the Bar.
The President has appointed P V Asha, a lawyer of the High Court, as judge. P B Suresh Kumar, another advocate from the Bar, too has been appointed as a judge.
The strength of the judges of the High Court will be 35 soon when the new two judges are sworn in.
Justice K K Usha, who served between 1991 and 2001, was the last woman appointed as a judge from the Bar.
Though Justice K Hema and Justice M C Harirani were appointed in the High Court, they were promoted from judicial service.
“It is only in Kerala that judgeship is not being given to women lawyers. But in other states, woman lawyers get due consideration,” a woman lawyer said.
She also pointed out that the situation is similar for the elevation of woman lawyers as senior advocates.
“Till 2006, no woman was designated as senior advocate. Out of 73 senior advocates, only two are woman lawyers,” she said.
Asha has got her law degree from the Ernakulam Law College. She was enrolled as an advocate in January, 1983, and commenced practice at Irinjalakuda in 1983 as a junior to Advocate K R Thampan.
Later she shifted practice to the Kerala High Court and attached to the office of M R Rajendran Nair till 1996.
Asha was a senior government pleader in High Court from 1996 to 2001. She has expertise in service, constitution, labour and civil cases.
She was standing counsel of the Kerala State Development Corporation for Converted Christians from Scheduled Castes and other Recommended Communities Ltd since 2004.
She was also included in the panel of lawyers to appear for the High Court in 2013.
P B Suresh Kumar obtained the law degree from Bangalore University and was enrolled on February 22, 1987.
He practised at Kollam District Court as junior to Paravoor A Balakrishnan Nair and later shifted to the High Court.
Suresh Kumar was designated as Senior Advocate in July, 2011.
He has proved his expertise in civil, criminal, arbitration, constitutional, labour and service.
He appeared for many institutions such as the Bar Council of India, LBS Center for Science and Technology, Nabard, Indian Overseas Bank, Karnataka Bank, HDFC Bank, Handicrafts Development Corporation before the High Court and the Supreme Court.